Georgia Amoore had career highs with 25 points and six 3-pointers and the Washington Mystics overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the host Phoenix Mercury for the second time in three days, prevailing 80-73 on Thursday.
Amoore scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. She recorded eight straight Washington points, hitting two 3-pointers, down the stretch for a 78-73 lead with 1:18 remaining. After Phoenix scored the first six points of the fourth quarter for a 63-53 lead, the Mystics finished on a 27-10 run.
Kiki Iriafen produced 20 points and 12 rebounds to notch her 19th double-double for the Mystics (24-15), who have won three in a row and five of their past six games. Shakira Austin added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Kahleah Copper scored 22 of her 35 points in the first half and Natasha Mack added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Mercury (13-26), who have lost four in a row and seven of their past eight.
The sixth-place Mystics moved one game ahead of the seventh-place Dallas Wings (23-16). Washington is one game behind the fifth-place Indiana Fever (25-14) and 1 1/2 games back of the fourth-place Atlanta Dream (25-13) with five games remaining. The top four teams earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Mystics have the second-most victories in team history, trailing only the WNBA 2019 championship team that finished 26-8.
Alyssa Thomas had 10 rebounds, eight assists but only four points on 1-of-5 shooting for the Mercury.
The taller and more physical Mystics swept the season series 3-0.
The Mystics, who lead the league in rebounding and rebound margin, had a 35-29 edge on the boards.
Washington had runs of 16-0 in the first quarter and 11-0 in the second, with the latter surge opening a 12-point lead.
Copper scored the first 10 points of the game and had 15 of the Mercury’s 18 first-quarter points. Phoenix led 15-2 before the Mystics went on their first big run led by six points from Amoore.
Lexi Held’s four-point play gave the Mercury the first lead of the second half, 54-51 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter. Phoenix was up 57-53 after three periods and pushed the gap to 63-53 on a Copper free throw with 8:17 left.
–Field Level Media
